29 Nov2021
By Michael Rose
AACTE recently posted two action alerts, which are a quick and easy way for you to urge your members of congress to support legislation pending before Congress.
The first action alert calls on Senators to include funding for educator preparation programs in the Build Back Better legislation it is currently negotiating. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed legislation that included more than $1 billion for these programs, an investment that is long overdue. However, it is unclear if the Senate will include this funding in their version of the bill. Your voice can help determine the fate of this critical funding.
29 Nov2021
By Deirdre Smith
In a bonus episode of the Next Education Workforce podcast, former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. tells Brent Maddin of Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College about the impact public school had on King’s life and how his work today has been shaped by his experiences as a student, classroom teacher, civil servant and policymaker.
29 Nov2021
By Linda Minor
Want to know everything that is happening at the 2022 AACTE Annual Meeting? The Event Planner has the entire schedule for each day (all times listed in the Event Planner are Central Time).
Once you have logged in to the Event Planner, you will be able to
- Browse the Full Schedule – Use the search field at the top to locate sessions by presenter name (first or last), title, keywords, and other fields.
- Access Session Information – See a session you might be interested in? Just click on the session title to access a description and list of presenters.
- Share Your Work with Other Attendees – Want to get other attendees interested in your session? If you are the presenter of a session, upload your slides, handouts, and other documents at any time. Just click on your session and then click the “manage handouts” button on the bottom.
29 Nov2021
By John Henning
Clinical experience is critical to the success of teacher candidates. It allows them to receive real classroom experience while they foster relationships with students and build their own instructional skills.
But, even with the skills they learn leading up to the clinical experience, teacher candidates can’t just enter the field and be expected to succeed. There’s a whole host of skills that cannot be taught in a college classroom or via a textbook. And, teacher candidates—just like classroom teachers themselves—need ongoing coaching and feedback to continuously improve their practice.
29 Nov2021
By Joshua P. Starr
Educators Rising, a national Grow Your Own career and technical education (CTE) program that inspires high school students to become educators, announced a partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education to expand to 30 schools across the state, with an emphasis on serving high-needs areas and recruiting diverse students into the profession. The partnership, partially funded through a generous grant from the Walton Family Foundation, more than doubles the potential footprint of the program in the state.
With chapters in all 50 states, Educators Rising offers students the opportunity to develop necessary classroom skills and experience teaching through co-curricular learning and supervised clinical experiences while still in high school. The program can be set up as an extra-curricular activity or as a co-curricular experience and offers a classroom-ready curriculum that can also be implemented at the school level. Educators Rising helps increase teacher diversity through tools and resources designed to address the needs of diverse students and broaden the types of students who explore teaching as a profession.
29 Nov2021
By UTEP
A quartet of educators from UTEP’s Department of Educational Psychology and Special Services earned a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to finance the education of 48 individuals who want to become K-12 counselors or special education teachers, as well as to develop technology-enhanced curricula and methods for greater collaborations. The members of Project BLESSED are, from left, Carleton Brown, Beverley Argus-Calvo, Anjanette Todd and Kristopher Yeager. Brown and Yeager are the co-principal investigators. Photo: Ivan Pierre Aguirre / UTEP Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at El Paso is strengthening its support for school counseling and special education graduate students thanks to a five-year $1.1 million grant from The U.S. Department of Education. The award enhances the University’s ability to help these students finance their education and gives them access to enhanced technical instruction and supervision support.
24 Nov2021
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
Now is your last opportunity to make your voice heard in AACTE’s Board of Director election. Voting closes November 30. Be sure to vote by midnight.
This year, there are 12 individuals running for 2 at-large seats and for seats representing AILACTE, HACU, NAFEO, and TECSCU. In addition, members are asked to ratify a set of proposed technical changes to the Articles of Incorporation & Bylaws.
24 Nov2021
By Tammy Moore
AACTE’s Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments (CREA) project recently released a framing paper titled The History, Current Use, and Impact of Entrance and Licensure Examinations Cut Scores on the Teacher-of-Color Pipeline: A Structural Racism Analysis. The paper addressed the following questions: (1) How are standardized entrance and licensure tests being used as a gateway into the profession? (2) Who determines cut scores for these tests? and (3) What is the historical significance and implications of these tests on the diversity of the profession today?
Lindenwood University represents one of fourteen lead institutions that comprise the CREA project. Tammy Moore, director of certification and field/clinical experiences at Lindenwood, reflects on the effects of entrance assessment requirements at her institution and her institution’s plans to ensure equitable access for all students who choose to pursue teacher education.
Why did Lindenwood University pursue membership in the CREA project?
Lindenwood University – College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) pursued the CREA project to participate in an initiative designed to support our continual efforts to recruit and retain teacher candidates of color. In direct alignment with Lindenwood COEHS commitment to “… an open, diverse, and inclusive learning environment that nurtures the growth and development of all …” the CREA project embodies our commitment to diversifying the teaching profession.
24 Nov2021
By Clay Smith
“From the moment I stepped on the yellow footprints, I was teaching somebody something,” said SSgt. (Ret.) Isaiah Ybarra, who served as a Fixed Wing Crew Chief in the United States Marine Corps for nearly a decade. He now teaches social studies at an eastern North Carolina high school. He recalled palpable connections between serving in the military and serving as a teacher-leader, specifically reiterating the opportunity to change and improve the lives of others. Ybarra’s experience is not unique, as hundreds of new enrollments each year confirm education and teacher preparation are amongst the most popular fields for military-connected individuals.
23 Nov2021
By Nicole Dunn
While the role of the principal remains essential, it has evolved over time. Throughout its evolvement, preparation programs, districts, and state policy makers have worked in silos, creating gaps between the skills learned in an educator leadership program and what a principal actually does on the job. In the second episode of AACTE’s new University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI) Podcast series chronicling this Wallace Foundation multi-year principal program redesign initiative, listeners will learn what the research says about what the gaps between “learning” and “doing” and how to address them.
In the “Gaps in the Journey to Becoming a Principal” podcast segment, listeners will hear how those findings are seen and implemented through the eyes of one of the UPPI’s Project Directors, Tim Drake.
22 Nov2021
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
Turkey? Check. Pies? Check. Vote in the AACTE Board Election? Check!
As you tick items off your list ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, please make sure you include voting in the AACTE Board Election, which closes on November 30. This year, there are 12 individuals running for two at-large seats and for seats representing AILACTE, HACU, NAFEO, and TECSCU. In addition, members are asked to ratify a set of proposed technical changes to the Articles of Incorporation & Bylaws.
22 Nov2021
By Nicole Geary
Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages
This article originally appeared in MSUToday and is reprinted with permission.
Students interested in becoming elementary teachers now have an exciting new pathway at Michigan State University.
Faculty in the nationally known MSU College of Education have redesigned the elementary Teacher Preparation Program to not only address changes in how Michigan certifies new teachers, but to ensure that Spartan educators are even better prepared to meet the challenges of today’s schools.
“It is important that we continue to evolve as a teacher preparation program to reflect changing times,” said Tonya Bartell, associate professor and associate director of elementary programs. “This means preparing high-quality beginning teachers ready to serve our nation’s diverse student population, including teaching English learners and students with disabilities, and serving as agents of change toward equity and social justice.”
22 Nov2021
By Meghan Grenda
As you probably know, AACTE recently launched its new online community— Connect360. The Connect360 platform is an engaging and interactive virtual platform that brings together AACTE’s community of over 15,000 individuals in an exciting way. Members are able to start discussions and ask questions of fellow AACTE members, comment on each other’s posts, share best practices, and create their own unique member profile.
With over 20 communities, hundreds of resources, and dozens of discussions, there is a home for everyone. Below are just a few of the news communities:
22 Nov2021
By AACTE
Dean Corrigan, who served as AACTE president from 1981-82, passed away on November 7 at his home in Middlebury, VT. He was 91 years old.
Dr. Corrigan had a great influence on many things that mattered for the educator preparation profession. He was instrumental in the writing of the AACTE manifesto on Educating a Profession, greatly influenced the Association’s stance on special education, served as a liaison for the Association to the National Teacher Corps, helped to shape 10 years of work on inter-professional education, and was a passionate advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion long before it was fashionable to be so.
22 Nov2021
By Jane E. West and Kaitlyn Brennan
This blog post is written by AACTE consultant Jane West and is intended to provide updated information. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Democrats in Congress are taking a victory lap as they leave town for a weeklong Thanksgiving recess next week. With House passage of the Build Back Better Act, the Biden agenda is one step closer to enactment. But the Senate will have the final say.
House Passes Build Back Better Bill – At Last
After weeks of fraught negotiations, and multiple postponed votes, the House finally passed the Build Back Better Act (the reconciliation bill) this morning. One Democrat (Rep. Jared Golden of Maine) sided with all Republicans opposing the bill. This left the Democrats with the slim margin they needed to cross the finish line.
